To travel you do not have to wait for the time you go on vacation. Even on a workweek, there is a time for a trip. To diversify your weekends and to get new impressions and emotions you can make a fantastic trip embracing our programme "short breaks".

Take your friends or family, choose up to three cities you want to visit and make a fabulous journey. In this weekend tour, you can stay for a one or two nights in the places you have chosen. You can be on excursions exploring and admiring the cities during the whole day and enjoy breathtaking views of the places recollecting bright moments of your trip at night. From dawn till night you will be able to see how the cities and everything around you change. Morning day will present the architecture and the landscape in sunlight glory while night will show transformed buildings and streets sinking in illumination.

What is the first thing that comes to mind when it comes to souvenirs from Russia? Of course, it is matryoshka, balalaika, vodka and caviar. Oh, and a hat with ear flaps as well! However, the ear flap hat is now in vogue, and has ceased to be such a rarity, vodka can be bought almost anywhere in the world.

Numerous souvenir shops are vying to sell magnets, mugs and T-shirts with slogans and thematic images (flag and coat of arms of Russia, funny sayings, bears, portraits of politicians and well-known writers), sailor's striped vests, as well as handicrafts. Khokhloma, Gzhel, enamel, birch amulets and Vologda lacework… the assortment is huge! But when you make purchases, don’t lower your guard.
Some unscrupulous sellers may try to sell you cheaper and substandard imitations. Of course, most of the shops have certificates for their goods and buy them directly from factories and workshops.
To help you not to get lost in all this colorful variety and tell how and where it is better to buy particular products, we have prepared separate articles for you on Russian folk crafts.

It makes sense to look for more valuable and rare souvenirs in antique shops.
Old coins, porcelain figurines of the Soviet era, icons, clocks, badges, decorations - one does not know where to look first!
But even here there are potential pitfalls. Apart from the fact that the seller may seriously inflate the price of what you want to buy, arguing that it is older or more valuable than it really is, there may be problems taking it out of the country.

As of today, it is prohibited to take any items of cultural value (books, figurines, icons, pictures, etc.), created prior to January 1, 1964 out of the country.

Important note: items of cultural value do not include cultural goods of serial and mass production, or modern souvenirs.

However, sometimes even an item of mass production manufactured over fifty years ago may attract the close attention of the customs service. If you want to protect yourself from unforeseen delays and undesired proceedings (the item is likely to stay with you, which, alas, cannot be said of your nerve cells), you can send the purchase to your own address by mail, after packing it carefully to avoid damage. Make sure that the package has a warning sign if the item is fragile.

Are you a little confused with all this information? Our team members are always ready to help you navigate all the rules, addresses, products and prices!

You will definitely find something to your liking and within your budget with all the variety of great Russian souvenirs!

5 Facts You Didn’t Know About Karelia

The Republic of Karelia is situated in the northwest of Russia. Thousands of tourists spend their vacations here every year because of the great variety of stunning landscapes. It is an amazing picturesque land full of forests, lakes and rivers which make this place one of the main destinations for ecotourism in Russia.

Karelia is not only a beautiful location with overwhelming views and tons of fresh air, but also a region with a rich history and culture. There are several things that show Karelia is without a doubt a unique place both in Russia and in Europe. Here are five interesting facts about Karelia that you didn’t know.

1. Petrozavodsk is the only city in Russia which was named after the emperor Peter I

The name of Petrozavodsk, the capital of the Karelian Republic, consists of two words, “Petro” (Peter) and “zavod” (rus. factory). This refers to the history of the first settlement which appeared in 1703 during the construction of a weapons factory which was decreed by Peter’s I, so the armory was soon named after him. Petrozavodskaya Sloboda, the settlement itself, was founded by another decree as a place of residence for all the factory workers. The weapons manufactured at this factory were used by soldiers during the Great Northern War (1700-1721) between the Tsardom of Russia and the Swedish Empire.

2. Karelian Ladoga is the largest lake in Europe

Ladozhskoye lake or Ladoga is a freshwater lake which is 136 miles in length and 86 miles wide. At least 40 rivers flow into Ladoga. It also drains into the Gulf of Finland via the Neva River. It is the largest lake in Europe and the 15th largest freshwater lake on the planet. The famous trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks, which connected Scandinavia, Kiev’ Rus and the Eastern Roman Empire in the 9th century included Ladoga as a part of the waterway.

3. Karelia is a region of lakes

Karelia has a huge number of lakes (about 18% of all waterbodies) on its territory. It outstrips countries like Finland, Sweden and Canada which only have 8 to 15%. There are more than 60,000 lakes in Karelia, and most of them are more than a hectare in size. The sum of their areas across the region is 145 kms3. That makes Karelia an absolute leader with the biggest coefficient of lakes in the world.

4. Thousands of petroglyphs are the natural monument of Karelia

Several thousand petroglyphs, the cave paintings left by the ancient Sami people, can be found around Karelia today. The drawings on cave walls and ceilings, mostly of birds, wild animals, humans and boats, are 2,000 years older than the Egyptian pyramids and 4,000 years older than The Coliseum in Rome. The Sami are indigenous people of Scandinavia which today inhabit such countries as Norway, Finland, Sweden and Russia.

5. Native Karelian people didn’t use the word “fried”

That’s correct, you won’t find the word “fried” in the Karelian language, because every single dish in the regional Karelian kitchen was either boiled or steamed. For example, Karelians usually baked fish in milk instead of frying. Even the fried pies which were actually fried in hot oil are named “kietinpiiroa” in Karelian which literally means “pies boiled in oil”.